This is a journal of my Lake Anna striper fishing experiences. I have a striper guide service on Lake Anna. If interested, please visit www.jimhemby.com for more information. I'll keep this blog strictly about the fishing conditions. Enjoy!

All photos in my blog posts are clickable, so you can see a larger version.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

When I got to the marina this morning to launch my boat the guys were already there waiting to go. We went and caught bait then set out a spread of boards right at the crack of dawn. I told the guys we had limited time to catch these fish because once the other boaters came around us it would be over. We were able to make 3 passes on a spot I liked and boated 4 of the largest fish of the day. Once the first boat came in it was over, the fish quit hitting. Obviously there has been so much fishing pressure boat motors are spooking the fish. We moved on taking a hit once in a while when it had been quiet but there were a lot of fisherman out today. The wind got up pretty bad and when I could no longer control the boat we had to come off the water. I think the blue bird day, rising barometer and wind were three strikes against us today. The guys were very happy with their catch, they are fisherman who know how the elements can influence fishing. They booked the trip wanting to learn how to fish the lake for Stripers and today's challenges gave them plenty of opportunity to see how I react to adversity.

Monday, December 17, 2012

I had a trip scheduled for this morning but my client had to cancel the trip due to some very unfortunate circumstances. My boat was ready so I decided to go by myself and take my dog with me. I left the marina around 7 and went looking for bait. Once I found it I made 3 throws and put 60 baits in the tank. Since I was just playing this morning I did not put out but 8 boards and a bobber and I am glad that is all I put out due to the action I had. Within the first hour of the morning I must of ran a mile around my boat trying to keep up. I did not want to keep any fish so I was throwing them back as soon as I could, rebaiting and setting the lines back out. I had worked my way past a friends house while I fighting fish. He saw what was going on and called me to see if I needed help. I welcomed the extra hands so I got my lines in, picked him up, caught 60 more baits and went somewhere else to fish. We fished for a couple hours and boated these 7 nice Stripers. All worked out well, as I was typing this blog his wife called and invited up over for a Striper dinner. It was great fishing today without the pressure to perform for my clients and being able to try areas that I have not fished before recently.

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Guide DP took Cory and John this morning for some action on Lake Anna for some Stripers. The water temperature has dropped a couple of degrees slowing the fishing a bit this morning but DP adapted and put the guys on some fish.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Picked the guys up at High Point at 5:45, caught bait and set a spread of Planner boards, downlines and a bobber out working areas where bait was present. Within a few minutes each client had caught a very nice Striper and they were all smiles. The bite was kind of funny today, the first fish of the day Bob caught the largest fish of the day [10 pounds] and each fish thereafter got progressively smaller and smaller [down to 5 pounds]. The guys were pleasantly surprised this morning to catch this caliber of fish on the lake. We all had fun today and they had plenty of Striper to fill their freezers up for the winter.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Guide Anthony took Dave out for a day on the water this morning fishing for Stripers. Dave is holding the big fish of the morning, a nice 16 pounder. Dave is also holding a limit of Stripers on the pole. The 16 pounder makes the 6 to 8 pound fish look small. "Tis the season for big fish.

Monday, December 10, 2012

DP's version of the day.......Water temp 49* Partly sunny early then light rain.
Anthony (Si) heard there may be a casting call coming to the area for
the hit show "Duck Dynasty" so he put his best Si face on today and we
went at it. We launched the boat at 6 this am, by 6:20 we had all the
bait we wanted and headed to our first spot and put them out. We
"explored" several areas today and were successful with each move that
we made. We would take a hit every 15 minutes or so with a hookup ratio
of 1 to 4. After the first 2 hookups today Anthony was well on his way
for the role of Si. When a fish would hook up all I heard was "hey
Jack, fish on". We never witnessed an aggressive feed today but it was
good just to be out there with such a great friend! As you can see from
the pic, the only thing Anthony is missing is the "elf ears" which I
think my wife is taking care of getting those as I am writing this

Sunday, December 02, 2012

Guide Anthony took Brian out today and put him on some very nice Stripers. Fish are very healthy now as you can see by the pictures and will feed heavily for the rest of the year making for some very good fishing.